Entries Tagged 'System 2008' ↓

This week I’m sharing with you just some of the dozens of takeaways from my trip to The System Seminar.  (The System was founded by Ken McCarthy and is widely regarded as the best-of-the-best in internet marketing events.)

Ken opened the seminar by sharing his top “big picture” principles.  “These are the 7 things I’d tell you about marketing and business if I could never tell you anything else again,” he said.  His best advice, in other words.  And his first words were:

“Do NOT be an internet marketer.”

OK, so, the dude who (more or less) invented internet marketing tells us NOT to be internet marketers, while at the top internet marketing conference that he founded.  What’s going on here?

“Do NOT be an internet marketer,” Ken said.  “Be a business owner.”

In other words, build a business.  Your long term results matter much more than the short term successes and failures.  The foundation you build is what will support you over that long term.

Internet marketing is full of short-term temptations.  A new “blueprint” or “formula” comes along practically every day, promising to be “the missing link” to business success.  That’s not really a huge problem in the metaphysical community, but we have distractions all the same.

And the question is still worth pondering:  are you a reader, or a business owner?  It’s perfectly OK to reserve your skills for your family and friends, or just do readings on the side.  Nothing wrong with that.  But there’s a world of difference between readings on the side and making a full-time living as a reader.

2 different sets of actions for 2 very different goals.  Are you a full-time metaphysical consultant?  Congrats!  You’re also a business owner.

It can be a little weird to wrap your head around, but thinking of yourself as a business owner is absolutely critical to your success.  Why?

Simple: the choice you make in your mind (i.e., how you think) will determine how you act.  And action truly is everything.

[If you’re a business owner, smart marketing is not an option!  In my upcoming teleseminars on June 10 & 17, I’m going to share an easy step-by-step marketing plan for metaphysical consultants.  Details here: http://www.metaphysicalmarketing.com.]

Just got back from this year’s round of the mother of all internet marketing conferences, The System.

When I say “the mother of all internet marketing conferences,” I mean it. Ken McCarthy, The System’s founder, was the first person to ever host an Internet marketing conference, back in 1994. (His guest, by the by? Marc Andreessen of Netscape. Ken also invented the banner ad.)

I got home this afternoon, but I’m still reeling. I’m also exhausted, having given into the temptation to spend my last evening tooling around Chicago with my pals and fellow copywriters, Chris Haddad and Julie Eason. I couldn’t resist, but we did stay up ’til past 1, which was rather sub-optimal when catching a plane at 9:30 the next morning.

I have to say: being at The System reminded me of being at The Readers Studio. The caliber of presenters, the warmth of the attendees, the fabulous networking, the generosity of our hosts, and so much more. And the content! Ken’s breakout sessions run on FIVE tracks. I got to sit in on 5, which leaves 20 to go. (Hint: if you ever go to The System, be sure to order the recordings so you don’t miss anything).

What I learned at just those 5 sessions, plus the general sessions, will keep me busy for a while. Through it all, one theme kept coming up again and again. You probably already know what I’m going to say…

Implementation. The best information in the world does you no good unless you USE it.

Lloyd Irvin has a reputation as one of the marketing world’s fastest implementors. When he first came to The System in 2003, he’d never made a cent with online marketing. On the first day, he went back to his room and began implementing what he’d learned - yes, well before the seminar was over. Five years later, the online arm of his business makes… $10 million.

$10 million can seem a little surreal and weird, I realize. The exact number isn’t important. What IS important is that he had a goal and just got started. Ask him, and he’ll tell you the big difference between him and others is action.

In his presentation, Lloyd made another important point with regards to action. It can be hard to wrap your head around, as it tends to go against what most of us have been taught and conditioned NOT to do: get it out there, clean it up later.

So your USP isn’t perfect. So what? So your brochure isn’t perfect. So what?

Wait for perfection and you’ll be waiting the rest of your life. Just get going. (An old boss of mine had a saying that always made me laugh: “equipment that has been ordered will always arrive before equipment that hasn’t been ordered.” Same idea.)

Implementation is what grows your business. Nothing else.

I’ll have more System seminar takeaways for you all this week on the blog, so check back.

Quick reminder: if you haven’t yet registered for the Painless Metaphysical Marketing teleseminar, don’t forget! You can sign up here:

http://www.metaphysicalmarketing.com

Did you catch that link in the last post?

No, not the link that will leave you breathless, though that one is not to be missed, savored and clicked through. I’m taking about this one:

http://www.thesystemblog.com

Ken McCarthy, founder of The System, does something quite remarkable. Every year, he gives away instructional preview calls with each and every member of the System faculty - over 25 hours of internet marketing coaching, all free.

The idea is to give away “a seminar’s worth of content” every year for free - actionable strategies to implement in your business right now.

Ken has one of the most pristine reputations in the entire IM community… and a strict “no pitchfest” policy at his events AND in these preview calls. The preview calls are promotional, but I can assure you after listening to almost all of them this year, they are 95% content. (He’s an over-delivering kind of guy.)

Now, straight up: these calls probably won’t be all that useful to most folks reading this - many of you are beginners. But a good number of you are also at least somewhat internet marketing savvy already - more than I would have guessed.

So if you’re already hip to internet marketing and want some good stuff - check out these calls before Ken takes ‘em down. If you’re curious and want to learn more without spending, well, anything, you can’t do any better than Ken.

Enjoy!